Styphnolobium is agenus offlowering plants in the pea family,Fabaceae. It includes nine species of smalltrees andshrubs native to China and to the Americas, from the southern United States to Colombia.[1] It belongs to subfamilyFaboideae, and was formerly included within a broader interpretation of the genusSophora. It was recently assigned to the unranked,monophyleticCladrastis clade.[2][3][4] They differ from the genusCalia (mescalbeans) in havingdeciduousleaves andflowers in axillary, not terminal,racemes. The leaves arepinnate, with 9–21 leaflets, and the flowers in pendulous racemes similar to those of theblack locust.Necklacepod is a common name for plants in this genus.[5]
Styphnolobium affine(Torr. & A. Gray) Walp., thecoralbean orEve's necklace is native to the southernUnited States inTexas,Oklahoma,Arkansas andLouisiana. It is a large shrub or small tree, growing to 5–7 m tall, with white or pale violet flowers. The seeds of this species are believed to be poisonous.[10] The sapwood leaches a yellow dye on contact with water.[11]
Styphnolobium japonicum(L.) Schott, thepagoda tree (Chinese Scholar, Japanese pagodatree; syn.Sophora japonica), is native to easternAsia (mainlyChina; despite the name, it is introduced inJapan), is a popular ornamental tree inEurope,North America andSouth Africa, grown for its white flowers, borne in late summer after most other flowering trees have long finished flowering. It grows into a lofty tree 10–20 m tall with an equal spread, and produces a fine, dark brown timber.
^Cardoso D, de Queiroz LP, Pennington RT, de Lima HC, Fonty É, Wojciechowski MF, Lavin M (2012). "Revisiting the phylogeny of papilionoid legumes: new insights from comprehensively sampled early-branching lineages".Am J Bot.99 (12):1991–2013.doi:10.3732/ajb.1200380.PMID23221500.
^Wojciechowski MF (2013). "The origin and phylogenetic relationships of the Californian chaparral 'paleoendemic'Pickeringia (Leguminosae)".Syst Bot.38 (1):132–142.doi:10.1600/036364413X662024.S2CID86331839.
^"ILDIS LegumeWeb entry forStyphnolobium".International Legume Database & Information Service. Cardiff School of Computer Science & Informatics. Retrieved13 February 2014.
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